U.S. patent number 4,632,270 [Application Number 06/657,899] was granted by the patent office on 1986-12-30 for fuel supply port structure of fuel tank for vehicle.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.. Invention is credited to Nariaki Nishida, Michiaki Sasaki, Norio Sasaki.
United States Patent |
4,632,270 |
Sasaki , et al. |
December 30, 1986 |
Fuel supply port structure of fuel tank for vehicle
Abstract
A fuel supply port structure of a fuel tank for use in vehicles
comprises a filler tube with a neck portion and a fuel supply gun
guide disposed within the filler tube. The fuel supply gun guide
has an opening at the lower end thereof to receive a fuel gun
inserted therethrough. The fuel supply gun guide also has a shutter
plate pivotally connected so as to usually close the opening. The
shutter plate pushed by the fuel gun inserted opens the opening,
wherein the shutter plate has raised at the central portion thereof
with which the fuel gun comes into contact, so that even if the
fuel gun is insufficiently inserted, the free end portion of the
shutter plate clears the flow of the fuel emanating from the fuel
supply gun.
Inventors: |
Sasaki; Michiaki (Hadano,
JP), Sasaki; Norio (Zama, JP), Nishida;
Nariaki (Zama, JP) |
Assignee: |
Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
(Yokohama, JP)
|
Family
ID: |
16254115 |
Appl.
No.: |
06/657,899 |
Filed: |
October 5, 1984 |
Foreign Application Priority Data
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|
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Oct 12, 1983 [JP] |
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58-190200 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
220/86.2;
141/285 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B60K
15/04 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B60K
15/04 (20060101); B65B 001/04 () |
Field of
Search: |
;220/85H,85VR,85VS,86R,86AT ;137/588,592 ;251/249.2 ;138/37,44
;141/285,286,291,292 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Pollard; Steven M.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Schwartz, Jeffery, Schwaab, Mack,
Blumenthal & Evans
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A fuel supply port structure of a fuel tank for use in vehicles
comprising a filler tube with a neck portion and a fuel supply gun
guide disposed within said filler tube, said fuel supply gun guide
having an opening at the lower end thereof and a shutter plate
having a cutout portion at one end thereof and pivotally connected
at the other end thereof close to said opening so as to open and
close said opening, said opening adapted to receive a fuel gun
inserted therethrough to abut onto a portion of said shutter plate,
and said portion of said shutter plate being raised toward said
opening from the peripheral portion thereof.
2. The fuel supply port structure of claim 1, wherein said portion
of said shutter plate is raised enough for the free end portion of
the shutter plate to clear the flow of fuel emanating from the fuel
supply gun.
3. The fuel supply port structure of claim 1, wherein said portion
of said shutter plate is raised such that the free end portion of
said shutter plate is directed substantially parallel to the outer
surface of the tip portion of said fuel supply gun.
4. The fuel supply port structure of claim 1, wherein said raised
portion is formed by embossing.
5. The fuel supply port structure of claim 1, wherein said raised
portion is formed by bonding a suitable piece of material onto the
shutter plate.
6. The fuel supply port structure of claim 1, wherein said cutout
prevents fuel from emanating from the fuel supply gun and running
against the shutter plate.
7. A fuel supply port structure for a vehicle fuel tan,
comprising:
a filler tube having a neck portion;
a fuel supply gun guide disposed within said filler tube and having
an opening at the lower end thereof and a shutter plate pivotally
connected at a first end close to said opening so as to open and
close said opening, said fuel supply gun guide receiving a fuel
supply gun;
means on said shutter plate for positioning said shutter plate out
of the line of fuel flow from said fuel supply gun when said fuel
supply gun is at least partially inserted into said filler tube,
said positioning means including a land, said land contacting the
outer surface of said fuel supply gun when said gun is inserted
into said filler tube, and a cutout in said shutter plate at a
second end opposite said first end.
8. A fuel supply port structure as claimed in claim 7, wherein said
land is located on the central portion of said shutter plate and is
raised from the peripheral portion of said shutter plate in a
direction toward said opening.
9. A fuel supply port structure as claimed in claim 7, wherein said
land is formed by embossing.
10. A fuel supply port structure as claimed in claim 7, wherein
said land is parallel to said shutter plate.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a fuel supply port structure of a fuel
tank for use in vehicles such as automobiles and, more
specifically, to a means for preventing the turbulence or
disturbance of supplied fuel flowing through the fuel supply port
for fuel tank.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
A conventional fuel tank for vehicles of the type disclosed, for
example, in Japanese Published Utility Model Application No.
53619/1980 has a fuel supply port structure which is adapted to
prevent the supply of wrong fuel by means of a fuel supply gun
guide having a shutter plate disposed in the neck protion of a
filler tube in the fuel supply port structure.
Specifically, the fuel supply port structure of a fuel tank
comprises a filler tube with a neck portion and a fuel supply gun
guide disposed within the filler tube. The fuel supply gun guide
has an opening at the lower end thereof sized so as to receive only
a specific fuel supply gun therethrough. The opening is usually
closed by a shutter plate rotatably mounted to the fuel supply gun
guide at the lower end thereof and biased by a spring means to
close the opening. The fuel supply gun, when inserted into the
filler tube, pushes the shutter plate to open the opening, and then
the fuel runs into the fuel tank through the filler tube from the
fuel supply gun.
In the fuel supply port structure, however, there is a problem that
the fuel flow emanating from the fuel supply gun is disturbed by
the shutter plate which is in contact with the peripheral edge of
the fuel supply gun, for part of the fuel emanating from the fuel
supply gun runs against the free end of the shutter plate which is
inclined to overlie the outlet port of the fuel supply gun. This is
particularly true when the fuel supply gun is insufficiently
inserted into the filler tube because the shutter plate tends to
rotate toward the closed position, so that the less sufficiently
the fuel gun is inserted, the more the shutter plate overlies the
outlet port of the fuel gun.
The fuel running against the shutter plate splashes back onto the
outer wall of the fuel supply gun which usually has a detection
hole for automatic stopping of fuel supply, and consequently the
fuel flows into the detection hole to stop the fuel supply in spite
of the fact that the fuel tank is not filled with the fuel.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore a primary object of this invention to provide a
fuel supply port structure of a fuel tank which prevents the
turbulence or disturbance of supplied fuel flowing through the fuel
supply port for the fuel tank.
It is another object of this invention to provide a fuel supply
port structrue which is possible to prevent the malfunction of the
automatic stopping mechanism for fuel supply.
It is another object of this invention to provide a fuel supply
port structure having a shutter plate which is adapted, when
opened, to readily clear the flow of the fuel emanating from a fuel
gun into the fuel tank so as to prevent the fuel from running
against the shutter plate.
In accordance with this invention, a fuel supply port structure
comprises a filler tube and a fuel supply gun guide disposed within
the filler tube and having a shutter plate pivotally connected to
the fuel supply gun guide to usually close the opening of the fuel
supply gun guide, the shutter plate having the central portion
thereof raised toward the opening from the peripheral portion
thereof, whereby when a fuel gun comes into contact with and pushes
the central portion of the shutter plate, the free end of the
shutter plate moves largely to clear the fuel flow.
These and other aspects and advantages of the invention will become
apparently by reference to the following detailed description of a
preferred embodiment when considered in conjunction with the
accompanying drawing, wherein like numerals correspond to like
elements throughout the drawing.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a cross sectional view of a conventional fuel supply port
structure.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the fuel supply gun guide used in
the fuel supply port structure of FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view of one embodiment of the fuel
supply port structure incorporating the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the shutter plate used in the
embodiment of FIG. 3.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, there is shown a fuel supply port
structure for a fuel tank having a filler tube 1 with a neck
portion 2 and a fuel supply gun guide 3 disposed within the neck
portion 2. The fuel supply gun guide 3 is of a funnel-shape, that
is, comprises an upper, enlarged peripheral flange portion 3a and a
lower, reduced portion 4 and a upwardly flared portion
therebetween. The peripheral flange portion 3a is secured by spot
welding to the inner surface of the neck portion 2 of the filler
tube 1. The reduced portion 4 of the fuel supply gun guide 3 is
adapted to receive only a specific fuel supply gun 9 as detailed
hereinafter. In addition, connected to the opening 4a at the tip
portion of the reduced portion 4 is a shutter plate 5 which is
adapted to open and close the opening 4a, in other words, rotatably
journaled at a pin 7 by a bracket 6 extending from the gun guide 3.
The shutter plate 5 is biased by a spring means 8 toward the
opening 4a, so that the opening 4a is closed in a normal
condition.
The outer diameter of the fuel supply gun 9 is varied depending on
the fuel to be treated by the gun 9, and the inner diameter of the
reduced portion 4 is determined such that the gun guide 3 in the
neck portion 2 mates with the fuel supply gun 9 for a specified
tank. In other words, the reduced portion 4 of the fuel supply gun
guide 3 has an inner diameter slightly larger than the outer
diameter of the fuel supply gun 9 so that only the specific fuel
supply gun 9 can be inserted into the fuel supply gun guide 3.
Accordingly, the fuel supply gun guide 3 is adapted to accommodate
the fuel supply gun 9 only for a specified kind of fuel, and the
fuel supply gun 9 thus accepted is adapted to push the shutter
plate 5 against the force of the spring 8, thereby supplying the
correct fuel into the fuel tank.
If a wrong fuel supply gun for a different type of fuel is inserted
into the filler neck portion 2, the fuel supply gun 9 is abutted
against the wall of the reduced portion 4 of the fuel supply gun
guide 3 and prevented from further insertion, so that the shutter
plate 5 is kept closed. Accordingly, the different kind of fuel
supplied is retained in the fuel supply gun guide 3 to flow into a
detection hole formed at the tip portion of the fuel supply gun 9
for automatic stopping of fuel supply, whereby fuel supply is
automatically stopped to prevent the supply of any wrong fuel.
In such a conventional fuel supply port structure, since the
shutter plate 5 must be pushed away for fuel supply by the tip
portion of the fuel supply gun 9, if the fuel supply gun 9 is
insufficiently inserted into the fuel supply gun guide 3, part of
the free end portion of the shutter plate 5 remains just in front
of the outlet port of the gun 9 as shown in FIG. 1. It will be
noted that the shutter plate 5 is in a slidable engagement with the
tip peripheral portion of the gun 9 and that the free end portion
of the shutter plate 5 would not completely clear the flow of the
fuel emanating from the outlet port of the fuel supply gun 9.
Therefore, the fuel supplied through the gun 9 tends to run against
the free end portion of the shutter plate 5, causing part of the
fuel to upwardly splash back over the tip peripheral portion of the
gun in the slidable engagement with the shutter plate 5. The part
of the fuel will flow down along the outer wall of the fuel supply
gun 9 into the filler tube 1 but sometimes may flow into the
detection hole 10 for automatic stopping of fuel supply disposed on
the outer wall of the fuel supply gun 9. Accordingly, the fuel
supply is sometimes automatically stopped in spite of the fact that
the fuel tank is not filled with fuel.
Now referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, one embodiment of the present
invention has the same construction of the fuel supply port
structure as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 except for the shutter
plate 5A. That is, the present fuel supply port structure comprises
a filler tube 1 with a neck portion 2 and a fuel supply gun guide 9
of the funnel shape having a shutter plate 5A at the tip opening
portion 4a thereof, the shutter plate 5A adapted to open and close
the opening and being biased by a spring means 8 toward the opening
4a so that the shutter plate 5A is usually closed. In the
embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a land 11 on
the central portion of the shutter plate 5A raised from the
peripheral portion thereof toward the opening 4a by embossing, such
that the land 11 is adapted to come into contact with the
peripheral edge or outer surface of the fuel supply gun 9 when the
fuel supply gun is inserted into the filler tube 1.
In addition, the shutter plate 5A has a cutout 12 at the free end
portion thereof, so that the flow of fuel supplied will not run
against the portion of the shutter plate otherwise existing at the
place of the cutout 12.
In the construction mentioned above, even if the fuel supply gun 9
is not fully inserted into the reduced portion 4 of the fuel supply
gun guide 3, the land 11 of the shutter plate 5A will come into
contact with the peripheral edge or outer surface of the fuel
supply gun 9, so that the free end of the shutter plate 5A is
pushed away from forward of the fuel supply gun 9. Consequently, a
clearance .delta. corresponding to the height of the land 11 is
formed between the tip peripheral edge or outer surface of the fuel
supply gun 9 and the free end portion of the shutter plate 5A,
whereby the shutter plate 5A will completely clear the flow of the
fuel emanating from the outlet port of the fuel supply gun 9. It
will be noted that the free end portion of the shutter plate 5A is
directed almost parallel to the outer surface of the gun 9.
Accordingly, the fuel fed through the fuel supply gun 9 flows down
through the filler tube 1 substantially without running against the
free end of the shutter plate 5A. Even if part of the fuel runs
against the free end portion of the shutter plate 5A, such fuel
goes through the clearance .delta. provided between the tip
peripheral portion of the fuel supply gun 9 and the free end
portion of the shutter plate 5A which is now directed almost
parallel to the outer surface of the tip peripheral portion of the
fuel gun 9, and the fuel flows down through the filler tube 1, and
therefore will never splash back over the outer surface of the fuel
supply gun 9. Particularly, the cutout 12 formed at the free end
portion of the shutter plate 5A is effective for preventing the
fuel from running against the free end of the shutter plate 5A.
Accordingly, the fuel running into the filler tube 1 will never
splash back onto the outer surface of the fuel supply gun 9 to flow
into the detection hole for automatic stopping of fuel supply, so
that the malfunction of automatic stopping during fuel supply is
completely avoided.
While preferred embodiments of this invention have been shown and
described, it will be appreciated that other embodiments will
become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading this
disclosure, and, therefore, the invention is not to be limited by
the disclosed embodiments .
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